Jedi Queen: Mysteries of the Force
by AmazingGraceless
Summary: Nellith Solo has begun her apprenticeship to Jaina Solo, her aunt. During a training mission, they recover artifacts that bring to light mysteries and secrets about the past and the Force. As the Second Order races for the knowledge of the Ancient Sith, Nellith struggles with her own connection to the Force and the Dark Side. Book 2 of the Jedi Queen series.
1. Seven Forms

The Force was every molecule in the galaxy. Nellith Solo could feel every molecule, pulsing with light and darkness, and knew their every movement, and even coax them to do her bidding. It was as simple as—

She reached out her hand and her lightsaber flew to her hand. She turned it on and opened her eyes just in time to see the brilliant magenta blade ignite. She placed her other hand lower on the base of the cylinder for support, and watched her mentor. Jaina Solo stood a few feet away on the slightly dirty mats they had been practicing on, her own blue-violet lightsaber open and hovering next to Jaina's leg, an open invitation.

Both lightsabers were set on a training mode, to prevent the permanent injuries usually caused.

In other arenas set up within the training area, Jedi Knights and Knights of Ren were running training duels with one another, with Rey supervising and occasionally assisting. It was in the center, under the industrial white lights, in which the Sword of the Jedi and Princess of the First Order practiced their duels.

"With the old Jedi Order, they used seven forms of dueling," Jaina said. "In Luke's Jedi, we stratified these down to three basic styles. Now that we've covered basic swordsmanship, it's time to begin teaching you a style."

"What style am I learning first?" Nellith asked.

"We're going to start with the Strong style," Jaina said. "It's more of a defensive style, one that emphasizes heavy, broad strokes. They aren't as flashy as the Fast style or as light as the Medium, but it gets the job done."

Nellith nodded. "Will I ever learn the seven classic forms?"

"Eventually," Jaina said. "But the reason the three basics were created were to help you adjust quicker to those seven."

"I see," Nellith said.

"We're going to run through some basic moves, blocks for the most part," Jaina said. "A lot of these strokes are blocking."

Jaina then demonstrated a simple blocking swing. Nellith copied it.

"Good," Jaina said. "Remember to keep both hands steady on the hilt," Jaina said. "Heavy strokes are called that for a reason."

Nellith nodded, and repeated the stroke, adjusting her grip.

"Better," Jaina said, nodding her approval. "Now, apply that to your basic blocks— up!"

Nellith mimicked the posture and swing as she blocked the overhead attack Jaina brought down.

"Good!" Jaina said. "Down!"

Nellith quickly adjusted and blocked the leg attack.

"Good! Left! Right!"

In a quick succession, Nellith blocked both attacks, and decided to try for a similar approach to an attack.

With a slow, heavy thrust forward, Nellith had knocked Jaina off her guard, who barely ducked out of the way.

"Good job!" Jaina said, Han's smirk on her face. "Your progress is only growing, Nellith. You've come a long way from a few months ago."

"Thank you," Nellith said, "for teaching it all to me."

"It's my job," Jaina said. "I'd be a terrible mentor if I didn't. Look at us getting all sappy."

Jaina surveyed the room a moment before looking back to Nellith.

"I think we're done for today," Jaina said. "Good work."

"Thank you," Nellith said. "I'll see you later."

Jaina gave a tiny wave, and Nellith darted out of the training room.

* * *

Nellith raised her hand in front of the access panel, and typed in the code using the Force. Her old room in Rey's compound had never been under so much security as the one on Aquilae.

As the heavy black doors swung open, Nellith mused that "rooms" might have been more appropriate. The black doors closed behind her as she stepped into the lavishly-furnished living area, which was a sublevel surrounded by short steps and entrances to other parts of her apartment.

Nellith continued into the sleeping area, and closed the curtain over the door. Within her apartment, there were no doors, partially so that the Knights of Ren would have an easier time getting in if something went wrong. But mostly, they were a testament to the security of the Imperial Palace. No need for doors within the apartments, because no one could get in without invitation.

Once she closed the curtain, Nellith immediately felt at home. Scraps of paper were taped to the wall of sketches she'd made of visions and dreams she'd had in the last few months. There were sketches that kept recurring, just like in her dreams.

One was the gnarled hand of an ancient man, unnaturally large and speaking to a history Nellith would never know. The hand itself seemed evil, and Nellith always sensed great darkness from it in her dreams. Others were faces of friends and family, like Amilyn Dameron and Sam Tico, or even her parents. Tallis appeared the most of all of them, always wearing a spiky crown dripping with blood.

The image that found itself in all of the images was the throne. Elaborate and ancient, Nellith traced the design with her finger. Something about the throne was familiar to Nellith, even though she had never seen it before, in waking, at least.

It neither appeared Light nor Dark. It just was. A paradox in the world of the Jedi and the Sith.

Nellith pulled her hand away, as if electrocuted. She stepped back, and plopped down onto her bed. Her hands instinctively found Jacen, the tauntaun stuffed animal her father had given her when she was a baby, and he still could only see her one day of the year, on Anch-To.

Will we still go to Anch-To, or is that in the past now that we're together? Nellith held Jacen up as she thought that, musing over the faded patches of plush and worn stitches.

She set down the toy, and decided to change her clothes. On the end of the bed were the casual clothes Nellith had casually discarded when it was time for her lightsaber training.

She tossed the sweaty jumpsuit into the laundry unit and changed back into the casual dress and leggings, preferring the looseness of the light fabric. With her lightsaber clipped to her belt, she rose and went out to the balcony.

Adjusting to Uphatu's frigid temperatures had also been a major adjustment. She folded her arms over her chest, shivering slightly as the cold wind blew a gust of snow her way.

The landscape of the compound was not much to look at, but beyond that were crystal caves and connifer forests, all stretched out across the planet, excepting where smaller residential compounds for stormtroopers were.

For all those months, Nellith had been itching to explore the crystal caves, but had never gotten the time. Her new life was filled with Jedi training or accustoming herself to the royal duties she would someday have.

Would she ever get to run free like she did on Aquilae again?

She knew that things were changing- her fifteenth birthday was coming up soon, even.

But as she glanced out at the snowy planet, she couldn't help but think that she never wanted things to change this much.


	2. The Silent Force

For the majority of her life, Rey had awakened alone in her bed. The sensation of someone else being in the bed beside her was still so unfamiliar, her heart skipped a beat when she realized Ben was beside her. Their limbs were tangled in a comfortable embrace, her head nestled in his chest. Even in dreamland, he held her close, as if afraid she would leave him before the morning came.

Not wanting to disturb him, Rey gently slipped out of his grip and sat up. She ran a hand through her dark hair, loose around her shoulders, and pondered the images that lingered from her dreams.

Bad dreams weren't foreign to Jedi. As Rey glanced to her husband's face, she was reminded of what he had told her. Snoke had haunted his dreams since before he was born.

As for Rey, many nights she had awakened in the hammock on Jakku to hear the eerie shifting of the sands outside the _Hellhound Two_ with nightmarish visions in her mind's eye. They were less frequent as she grew older- until she was pregnant with Nellith.

She remembered waking up in the sheets, and longing for Ben to be by her side, to feel him in the sheets, to feel his presence entwined in hers, as it was when they were together. Rey didn't miss those days in the slightest.

This dream, however, she had relived many times during the pregnancy. To see it all again meant something. Destiny was ticking closer, and would come for them all, soon.

Rey heard a shuffling in the sheets, and looked to see Ben Solo prop himself up on his elbows, his sleepy eyes drifting up his wife's body before resting on her hazel eyes.

"I didn't mean to wake you," Rey said.

"You didn't."

"Nellith takes after you- she's also a terrible liar," Rey said, an affectionate smile curling her lips upward.

"I could feel it- you're afraid," he said, sitting up. "I thought we were done with the lonely nights."

"We are," Rey said. "But old habits die hard."

"What happened?" Ben asked. "Tell me."

"I'm having the same dreams I had when I was pregnant with Nellith," Rey said.

Dark recognition gleamed in Ben's eyes. "You don't mean. . ."

"The one with the throne," Rey confirmed.

"I've dreamed it, too," Ben admitted. "But I never realized it before. . ."

"You recognized it too," Rey stated. It was no question.

* * *

 _Visions of the future were murky. Silvery mist shifted the shapes of the future, nothing like the strong and clear vision Rey had once had of her future with Ben. There was still so much unclear, but unlike before, some parts had solidified._

 _But the ideas had never changed. Rey saw first the throne, the center of it all. Ornate and strange, it exuded a power she could not divine. All she could tell was that it was old, and existed not on a planet, but in an in-between place. The surroundings had changed from vision to vision. But this time it was in a forest. To its left was the fixture of the fountain, charged with an energy both alluring and wicked. To its right was the pool, serene and so clearly light._

 _There was the girl, with blonde hair, and Nellith's face- Rey had not seen it so clearly before. She walked between scenes across time and space, all having come long before Nellith's time. Her daughter strode through time with calm and grace beyond what Rey could fathom._

 _Nellith approached the throne, but standing beside it was a dark stranger. He offered a hand, covered in blood to Nellith. She hesitated only a moment before accepting. Rey had never seen the dark stranger's face before, and she would not have recognized it when she first had the visisons. She did now._

 _Tallis's face belonged to the dark stranger._

* * *

"He is Palpatine's great-great grandson," Rey said. "But we can't assume that means his future's already decided. I'm training the boy- and he has great potential. I'll die before he lets that be his fate."

"For him, or for Nellith?" Ben knew he shouldn't have to ask. But something in him still did.

"For Nellith," Rey whispered. "Always."

"And if he did go dark?" Ben's voice was breathless.

"I would make sure he could never make my daughter's future go dark," Rey said. Her voice held a promise of vengeance only a mother could fulfill. "There are alternate ways it could go— the one where she's surrounded with her friends, where she's alone. All would be preferable to the dark."

The two nodded, an understanding passing through their bond. They would do whatever it took to preserve their daughter's future.

They sat there, in the darkness of their bedroom in the Imperial Palace. During their conversation, the light pink moon had passed to where it shined directly over their window.

Rey glowed a beautiful pink in front of Ben, and his hand glowed with the moon's light as he first took her hands into his, and then embraced her fully. She wrapped her arms around his neck as if he were an anchor in a stormy sea.

Touch was foreign and a luxury to both— to be inundated with each other's embrace was surely one of the seven heavens the Corellian religion spoke of. It was more intimate than just physically— their souls were one, imprinted together to where sometimes even Rey couldn't tell where she began and Ben ended.

That was how she wanted.

That way, they would never be alone, never again.

That was their promise in their world that transcended space and time, so many years ago.

Except this time, Luke Skywalker wasn't going to tear them apart. As far as Rey was concerned, nothing would.

Ben slowly reclined, but neither loosened their grip, neither let go. They adjusted the sheets over themselves, and fell asleep in each other's arms.


	3. Tomb Raider

As the dawn broke through Nellith's bedroom window, she heard a chirp from her commlink. Lazily, she reached out for it, and a holographic image of Jaina appeared.

"Good morning, Nellith," she said.

"'Morning, Aunt Jaina," Nellith murmured sleepily.

"I need you to get up and get dressed as quickly as possible," Jaina said. "Rey and Ben finally approved a mission for you. I'll debrief you when we're on the _Twin Suns_."

"I'm up," Nellith said hastily as she scrambled out of bed. "I'll be right there, Jaina."

She then ended the transmission, and ran over to her closet. She pulled out practical clothing in earthy tones and clipped her lightsaber to her belt. She quickly checked around her room for her other gear, before deciding she was good, tying her hair back in a simple ponytail, and taking off for the hangar.

* * *

Inside the hangar, Nellith passed the _Millennium Falcon_ , or what was left of it, anyway. Repairs were still being made on it, after the crash-landing on Uphatu several months past. Seeing the ship of her childhood like that still gave Nellith the shivers.

She hurried past it to the _Twin Suns_ , the ship co-owned by Jaina Solo and Kyp Durron. Outside of it, leaning against the extending arm attaching the loading ramp to the main ship, Jaina stood in another all-black ensemble, her long hair flowing down her back.

"That was speedy," Jaina said. "I've got breakfast inside."

"Thanks," Nellith said. She went into the crimson ship, and took a passenger seat. When Jaina entered the cockpit with two sandwiches, she stopped.

"Get in the co-pilot's seat," she ordered.

"Oh, so Kyp isn't coming?" Nellith hopped over to the co-pilot's seat and accepted her sandwich.

"No, I thought we should have some time with just us girls," Jaina said. "This is supposed to be an easy one. Some locals on Korriban have been seeing strange ships showing up in the Valley of the Sith, and suspect there's some tomb-raiding from the Acolytes of the Beyond again."

"So, what are we doing?" Nellith asked. She resisted the urge to spin around in the chair.

"It's a simple retrieval," Jaina said. "A family on Korriban found some artifacts they think we might be interested in. The family's found a lot of artifacts over the generations, but with all the dark side activity, they don't feel safe having them anymore."

Nellith nodded.

"We land, we get in, get out," Jaina summarized. "Sound wizard to you?"

"Kriffing wizard," Nellith said.

Jaina grinned. "Don't let Ben or Rey know I taught you that."

"Oh, you didn't," Nellith said, her hazel eyes wide and innocent. "Kyp did."

"Kriffing Kyp— of course he did," Jaina muttered. "We'd better get going— don't want to keep that family waiting."

Nellith nodded, and began shifting the controls, instinctively following Jaina's lead. They left the hangar of the Imperial Palace and left the atmosphere of Uphatu for the first time in months, for Nellith, anyway.

She didn't look back, not even once.

* * *

When they left hyperspace, Nellith got her first look it Korriban. It was another desert planet, like Jakku and Tatooine. Yet something felt different about this one.

"We're landing at the edge of the Valley of the Sith," Jaina said. "The family we're visiting has a moisture farm there."

"Wizard," Nellith said.

"Hopefully none of the Second Order or the Acolytes of the Beyond will be there," Jaina said. "Not because I think you can't handle it, but because Ben will probably spear me with that trisaber of his if we meet them."

"I don't understand why they're being so overprotective," Nellith said. "Mum was living alone on a desert planet, Dad was a Jedi, Grandma was a Senator, and Grandpa was alone on the streets of Corellia conning people. They all turned out fine."

"That's debatable," Jaina said. "Your dad, for one, had a dark side stint that wrecked the entire galaxy, Rey's got abandonment issues up the wazoo, and Dad. . . Dad was Dad, let's leave it at that."

Nellith nodded, not sure what to do with that information. "We should get this done. I won't tell Dad or Mum if we meet some Second Order Sith."

"I appreciate that," Jaina said. "Come on, we better land this thing before we run out of fuel."

* * *

They landed on the surface of the planet without any issues. A few feet away from the farm, master and apprentice exited the Twin Suns. Outside of the small compound, there was a young woman with binoculars standing outside. She removed them from her eyes and squinted at the two Jedi.

"You must be Juno Marstrap," Jaina said as they approached. "I'm Jaina Solo. We've been in contact about the arti—"

"Shh!" Juno rushed over, and her dark blue eyes darted around. "Not here. Let's get out of here."

She hung her binoculars around her neck, placed one hand on Jaina's arm, and the other on Nellith's before escorting them inside. A boy of about twelve years stood behind the door with the end of a rather large blaster resting on his shoulder.

Juno shut the door behind the two of them, and glanced out the window before shutting the blinds. Juno looked to Jaina and Nellith.

"The raiders are getting bolder," Juno explained. "These artifacts are attracting them, we think."

Jaina and Nellith exchanged a look of surprise before turning back to Juno.

"Let's see them," Jaina said. Juno nodded, and led them through a hallway into a storage room. Several boxes lined the room. Juno walked to one shelf that was the length of the floor to the ceiling, and had a majestic staff leaning against it.

"Staff came from Marka Ragnos's tomb," Juno said. "Other than that, our finds were in this box."

She pulled out a box from the shelf and handed it to Nellith.

"We can all sense the Force, even if we can't wield it," Juno said. "We can feel how dangerous these artifacts are. Please be careful."

"We will," Nellith promised.

Juno nodded. "I believe you."

Before anyone else could speak, they heard blaster fire. Nellith dropped the box and followed Jaina and Juno into the living room. The boy had slid the window the slightest bit open and was firing at masked figures approaching the house from the pathways connecting the Sith tombs.

"More raiders," Juno growled.

"Ben's gonna kill me," Jaina groaned. She whipped out her lightsaber and gestured for Nellith to do the same.

The two rushed out of the house as the raiders pulled out their own red lightsabers.

"It's a duel they want, then," Jaina said. She twirled her lightsaber in a flashy move Nellith had seen her mother do. "We'll give 'em a fight, then."

Jaina charged, her lightsaber and her doing a dance with the raiders as her unwilling partners. Nellith followed, a few steps behind. Her own fighting was clumsy in comparison, partially because she was using the heavy style of lightsaber combat.

Nevertheless, the four raiders proved to be easy opponents. As soon as the fight had started, it ended. Nellith stabbed the last one through the chest seconds after Jaina had lopped off the head of her second opponent.

Jaina turned to Nellith. "You okay, kid?"

Nellith nodded.

Jaina knelt down beside the raider Nellith stabbed, and traced her fingers over the mask.

"Acolytes of the Beyond," Jaina said. "But they're carrying Second Order weaponry. The Second Order must've done some recruitment."

Nellith nodded. "I've heard about them— their masks give them their power."

"I wonder if there was a mask in that box we found," Jaina said. "That's really the only Sith artifact they're interested in."

"We'd better check," Nellith said.

* * *

When they returned into the house, Juno had already grabbed the box and the staff. She thrust both at Nellith.

"Get these both out of here," Juno ordered. "We can't let them find out we have this stuff. Is that understood?"

Nellith nodded.

"Thank you, Juno," Jaina said. "I hope this will keep the raiders a little farther from your house. May the Force be with you."

"And also with you," Juno said.

With that, the two Jedi walked onto the _Twin Suns,_ ready to return to Uphatu.


	4. Days of a Living Past

Around a table, Ben, Rey, a Knight of Ren, Jaina, and Nellith stood, examining the artifacts all laid out on the glowing surface. The glow of the table was white, unlike the ghostly green emanating from the wall and ceiling panels. There were no windows into the room, as archaeological facilities such as these were to maintain the artifacts recovered. Which meant no sunlight.

"This is an impressive find," Rey said, looking to Ben excitedly. "These date back to the Old Republic— look at the kind of metal used!"

Nellith did notice that the metal seemed different, although she would have had to analyze the chemical makeup to know how old they were. Still, she could feel the ancient power on them— dark power.

"You were lucky the raiders weren't some of the more accomplished members of the Knights of Ren," said the female Knight of Ren.

Nellith had seen the Knights of Ren without their helmets and black ragged regalia before, but she'd never gotten the courage to actually talk to one. She knew firsthand that they weren't bad people. Like her father, they'd lost their way but had eventually come back.

In through the door burst two individuals— Kiernan Solsaur and Tallis Shan.

"Rowley!" Kiernan barked, looking at the female Knight of Ren with a malicious gleam in his amber eyes. "I asked for you to get to the training room five minutes ago!"

Rowley glared at Kiernan. "I have more important things to deal with."

"Like a bunch of artifacts some lost Solo drags here?" Kiernan's eyes flicked toward Jaina with derision. "Come on, we need to train."

"I called her here," Ben said. His voice was low and emotionless, but his expression indicated a more menacing idea.

Tallis stood suddenly, and approached the table, gliding in a dreamlike state. His lilac-gray eyes widened as his nimble fingers reached for the mask, tracing over its features. He picked it up gingerly, his jaw dropping a little. He stared at it, transfixed.

He looked up, utterly shocked. "Where did you get this?"

"Korriban," Nellith said, glancing at Jaina. "Why? Do you recognize it?"

Tallis visibly swallowed. "I know who it belonged to."

Jaina folded her arms over her chest. "The Acolytes of the Beyond wanted it."

"Of course they would," Tallis said. "This would've been the mask any Sith collector would want. This belonged to Darth Revan."

A strange, cold wind blew through the room. Nellith rubbed her shoulders and shivered, and the lights dimmed. Jaina leapt to her feet.

"That can't be," Jaina said. "I thought Revan's mask was lost."

"Well, you found it." His voice was humorless.

"Who is Revan, exactly?" Nellith asked. "I've heard of him— he's like a culture hero, but none of the legends seem to agree on anything— not even if he's, well, a he."

"The historical figure is a little muddled," Jaina agreed. "I don't know much about him, myself— but what I do know is that he was a powerful Sith Lord and pretty much changed the rules of the dark side. He could probably give Palpatine or Snoke a run for their credits."

"Revan wasn't just a Sith Lord," Tallis said, looking back to the mask. "He was a Jedi, too. He even married a Jedi— this was before the rule against marriages."

"How do you know this?" Jaina asked.

Tallis took a deep, shuddering breath, and closed his eyes. He set down the mask on the table, and braced himself against the table. He let out a deep breath, then spoke.

"Because while Dad was a Palpatine, Mom was a Shan," Tallis said. "Revan. . . He took his wife's surname. His wife was Bastila Shan. I am the descendant, and heir, to Darth Revan."

"Another Sith Lord?" Kiernan quirked an eyebrow. "Don't you already have Palpatine in your tree?"

Tallis closed his eyes, a pained expression on his face. "Yes. There's more to the story than I wanted to admit. . . Before. There are a lot of Sith Lords on my family tree. Some I don't even know. But my family has always tended to be on the Dark Side."

"Then why should we trust you?" Kiernan demanded.

"My mother said I was going to be a Jedi Knight, and by the Force I will be a Jedi Knight," Tallis said, his eyes flashing open.

The room shook a little.

Ben and Rey exchanged a glance.

"Rowley, Kiernan, go to the training room," Rey said. "I'll join you in a minute."

Rowley and Kiernan exchanged a glare before marching out of the archaeological room.

Ben opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a beep on the commlink on his belt. He pulled it off and held it up to his mouth.

"Yes?"

General Mitaka's voice came through. "Sir, there's been a request from the other generals. They would like to discuss strategy."

Ben sighed. "I'll be there in a moment, Mitaka."

"Understood, sir," Mitaka said.

Ben ended the transmission and turned to Rey, giving her a brief kiss on the cheek. "I have to go."

"I'll meet you in our apartment as soon as I can," Rey said quietly. "Something tells me we'll have plenty to talk about."

Ben nodded, before leaving the room. Rey and Jaina turned to Tallis.

"You need to tell us what you know about Revan and Bastila, and any of these Sith Lords," Jaina said. "The Second Order is interested in these older Sith, so there must be something for them to be interested in."

Tallis bit his lip. "There might be something."

He picked up the mask again. "The Acolytes would be looking for this. But Revan had several holocrons scattered across the galaxy. Kashyyk, Tatooine, Dantooine, Manaan, Korriban. There's also a staff from Marka Ragnos here, that would be important. The rest of it, except the holocrons, are not all that important. Except to the Acolytes, because they care a little bit more about collection."

"We'll send out teams to pick it up," Jaina said. "Nellith and I will return to Korriban. There might be some more clues on the inside of the temples."

"Good," Rey said.

"The basics of Revan and Bastila's story is that Revan was involved in some Jedi Civil War, it was at least a thousand years ago," Tallis said. "Bastila was the Jedi that nearly struck him down. There was some sort of accident, and Revan lost his memory. But Bastila saved him, and he became a Jedi Knight, before he remembered. What happened next is lost, but we do know there was another Jedi Civil War. What side Revan was on was lost."

"So Revan was a loose canon of the Force," Rey said. "Interesting. Would he have anything else that might make some Second Order Force-users very happy?"

"That's all I can think of— I'll tell you more if I remember," Tallis promised.

Rey and Jaina exchanged a look.

"Thank you, Tallis," Jaina said. "This helps us out greatly."

"I think I'm going to be here a while, so why don't you all go out and let me take a look at some of this stuff," Rey said.

Jaina nodded. "Nellith, you can go do whatever you'd like— until it's time for training, of course."

"Of course," Nellith replied with a simple nod. She looked over to Tallis. "Come on, let's go!"


	5. All Lost Love

Tallis and Nellith entered a corridor of the Imperial Palace.

"It's been a while," Nellith said as they started walking. "It's just that I've been so busy. . ."

"So have I," Tallis said. He was looking at his boots, much cleaner and newer than he was used to. "Rey's wanted to make sure I catch up, and that means a lot of meditation, talking about feelings, that kind of thing."

"I do some of that too," Nellith said. "It's supposed to make it easier to be a Jedi if you know where your heart is."

"That's what Rey said," Tallis said.

The two continued walking, until Nellith found the part of the corridor she was looking for. She looked to her left and to her right before pulling her multitool off of her belt.

"What are you doing?" Tallis demanded as Nellith knelt down and started unscrewing a panel.

"Found this a couple of weeks ago," Nellith said. "There's secret passages in this castle."

"Really?" Tallis tilted his head sideways. "How did you figure that one out?"

"My mum took apart AT-ATs when she was my age, she taught me how to find gaps like this in schematics," Nellith said. "I found some schematics for the castle, and followed the gaps."

She pulled aside a panel, and gestured for Tallis to get in. He did so, entering the dark electric insides of the Imperial Palace. Nellith followed, securing the panel in place from the inside.

Nellith turned on the light on her multitool, illuminating the surprisingly large shaft and passageway within the palace.

"It's incredible you found all this," Tallis said, looking around in awe.

"Come on," Nellith said, a grin on her face reminiscent of her grandfather. "I want o show you something."

* * *

After what seemed like hours of crawling through the passageway of the castle, they entered a balcony room that overlooked the ice caves and frozen woods with none of the Imperial compound showing. In fact, Nellith could see a frozen pond at the edge of it all, and parts she'd never seen of the planet before.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Nellith asked.

"It's alright," Tallis admitted, as the two sat down, looking to the outside.

"I thought it would be a quiet place to talk," Nellith said. "Y'know, since we haven't really had much time lately."

"Yeah." It was then that Nellith noticed the dark circles under Tallis's eyes.

"Is everything okay?" Nellith asked.

"I'm fine." He then smiled, and somehow, Nellith believed him. Despite everything else screaming out at her.

"They say that they're already fighting on Corellia," Nellith said.

"Makes sense," Tallis said. "The Empire's always had its grip on that hellhole."

"Do you miss it?" Nellith asked. "It was your home for such a long time."

"It was a prison," Tallis corrected. "I don't really care what happens to it now. Corellia will always be where my mother died because of the slum lords and where my father abandoned us both."

"Have you learned anything about your dad?" Nellith asked.

"Not much more than I already knew. I know the Sith that came from my dad, and I know his name," Tallis said. "Now I know who he was to the First Order."

"Who was he?" Nellith asked.

"A man named Galen Palpatine," Tallis said. "He was a special Hand to the Supreme Leader, same as Mom. They were secret attack dogs, ones the Knights of Ren didn't even know about. Especially because of the Second Order faction forming even when Snoke was in charge."

"I see," Nellith said. "Did you ever know him?"

"I remember his face," Tallis admitted. There was a faraway look in his lilac-gray eyes. "But sometimes I think I imagined that. He wasn't around much, before he ditched me and Mom."

"I'm sorry," Nellith said. She placed her hand on top of his, and he gave a weak smile in return. He looked back to the horizon.

"It's not like he matters all that much, in the scheme of things," he said. "Not everyone has a family, Nellith."

"I know that," Nellith said, her voice sympathetic. "Mum didn't have one until she left Jakku. Sometimes real family isn't the one you have by blood."

"I know that, and I want to find that too," Tallis admitted.

"You will, someday," Nellith assured him.

The two just sat there, in the silence, watching the sapphire sky and the frozen world before, pristine and crystalline.

Then the castle rattled.

Nellith and Tallis scrambled to their feet and down the passage. Sirens blasted through the compound, rattling the castle as they came back out through the panel where they entered.

As they spilled out, Nellith saw stormtroopers running towards someplace.

Nellith and Tallis exchanged a look before running after them. As they turned a few corners and ascended a staircase, they saw the line where stormtroopers were stacked, ready to fire at blast doors.

Nellith slid to a halt. The only reason she didn't fall over was because Tallis caught her with his arm at just the right moment.

"Dad's in there," Nellith said. "We have to get in there!"

"Whoa, whoa, we are not getting past those stormtroopers," Tallis said.

Nellith pulled her lightsaber out just as Jaina and Rey arrived on the scene.

"Come on," Jaina said, gesturing for Nellith to follow her. With a few quick strokes, Jaina cut open a hole in the door, and entered.

Ben was fighting off several of the other generals, barely managing to hold his own in the fireflight.

Rey and Jaina leapt in, and Nellith was quick to block a shot from a General she didn't quite recognize, reflecting it right into his heart. He soared across the table and Nellith moved right behind another one, sending her lightsaber right through his shoulder blades.

Smoke filled the room, and a figure shoved past Nellith, knocking her sprawling to the ground.

"Hey!" she cried, and she scrambled to her feet, looking back. The stormtroopers fired, and Nellith turned her attention back to the room. Out of the smoke emerged a figure, and Nellith raised her lightsaber.

He dropped his blaster and raised his hands in surrender. In a heartbeat, Nellith recognized him as General Mitaka.

"I'm on your side, I swear!" Mitaka promised.

The blaster fire ceased and all that could be heard was coughing.

"We need to get the ventilation system going," Mitaka said. He headed to the control panel and hit a flew buttons. A breeze flew through the room, clearing it and dispersing the smoke. There were only a few dead bodies on the floor. Nellith realized in a heartbeat that the majority of the generals had escaped.

"The generals have betrayed me," Ben growled. The look in his eye was as feral as when he was Kylo Ren. "They most likely have already made their way to the Second Order."

"They tried to kill you," Jaina said. "A coup, an assassination, or both."

"We're getting old," Rey remarked. "I remember taking down a room full of guards with light-weapons more easily than this."

"And they knew who they were dealing with," Ben said. He looked to Mitaka. "Get me a list of anything that's missing— and their clearance files. We need to know what information they have and what they're bringing to the Second Order."

Jaina looked to Nellith. "Good news, kid. We're going back to Korriban."


	6. Snoke's Curse

This time, they landed in the valley, right outside the pyramid that Jaina had specific interest in.

"One of the holocrons was a map," she explained. "This is the one that correlates with Snoke, specifically."

"Why aren't we looking for Revan's, if he was so important?" Nellith asked.

"Revan never had a tomb in the valley," Jaina said. "At least, according to that map holocron. But interestingly enough, Snoke did."

"What? Didn't he just come out of nowhere? I thought no one knew who that guy was," Nellith said.

She'd heard bits and pieces, from an incredibly reluctant Rey. Never from Ben. What she knew was that Snoke was the first Supreme Leader, and Rey and Ben had teamed up to kill him. She also had gathered, from bits and pieces, that somehow Snoke had been responsible for Ben's fall to the dark side. But most of the details were missing.

Jaina hesitated, looking very uncomfortable with the subject.

"I don't know everything about it," Jaina said, looking away. Her long hair swished forward to hide her face. "Mom. . . Mom said she knew who he was. But she never told me, or Ben. I think if she had told us or Dad, the galaxy would be a very different place."

The resentment dripped from her voice. She sighed.

"I can't say a lot, but Ben specifically wants us to check this one out," Jaina said. "You can't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you. Can you keep your mouth shut?"

Nellith only hesitated a moment before nodding.

"Ben told me he's been dreaming of Snoke again," Jaina said. "And you and I both know—"

"Snoke died fifteen years ago," Nellith finished. "Oh my gods."

She looked Jaina in the eyes.

"This isn't about the Second Order, is it? This mission is about Dad," Nellith said.

"Not completely," Jaina said. "Andromeda might be interested in Snoke. We don't know anything for sure."

"So two birds, one stone," Nellith said. "I understand."

"Good," Jaina said, standing up. "We'd better get going."

Nellith and Jaina left the Twin Suns, and started climbing the steps of the entrance to the tomb. Several rocks covered the entrance, pieces of statues and molding that had been destroyed in a feeble attempt to keep others out.

Jaina and Nellith reached out their hands, and lifted the debris out of the way. Nellith pulled out her multi-tool and illuminated the inside of the tomb. Jaina ignited her lightsaber, and the two entered the pyramid.

On the tall walls, Nellith could see painted murals and runes of some language long forgotten. Nellith knelt, trying to read and understand it.

"It's Ancient Sith," Jaina said, kneeling beside her. "See the markings? Same as on the holocrons and staffs."

"Do you think Tallis might understand it?" Nellith asked. "He seems to know a lot about all the Sith things."

"I sincerely doubt it," Jaina said. "And besides, we didn't bring anything to get holos with."

Nellith nodded, disappointed.

"But this gives us some more information than we had before," Jaina said. "We're now getting an idea how old Snoke is— at least three-thousand years is what I'm getting. Damn, I wish we brought Rey. She'd know this stuff."

"Three-thousand is probably right," Nellith said. She closed her eyes, trying to feel the Force around the room. Her fingers hovered over the wall. She could feel pure darkness and chaos surrounding her, and could feel the age. She nodded. "Definitely three-thousand."

"Interesting," Jaina said.

Nellith opened her eyes, looking up to the murals. "What could this mean?"

"I don't know, but look at the Star map over there," Jaina said, pointing up. Nellith directed her multi-tool to get a better light and squinted.

"That's Jakku," Nellith realized, seeing the highlighted spot on the map. "What does that have to do with Snoke?"

"I don't know," Jaina admitted. She looked up at it. "I think we ought to keep looking."

The two got up and continued into the next room. Several gold treasures and comforts littered the room. It appeared that Snoke had lived in opulence when the tomb was created— although Nellith wondered why the tomb had been created.

 _He lived so much longer than this, he never died,_ Nellith thought. _What happened here?_

As Jaina used her lightsaber to investigate the artifacts within the tomb, Nellith approached a section of the wall, suspecting something was different about it. She couldn't pinpoint what it was—perhaps it was merely a feeling.

Whatever it was, Nellith reached out for the wall, and immediately felt the darkness. Overwhelmed by it, Nellith retracted her hand with a yelp.

"Everything alright?" Jaina asked.

"There's something behind the wall." Nellith's voice trembled a little. She outstretched her hand, and saw her fingers shake. Nonetheless, she decided to open the side of the wall, using the Force.

With a great shake, the wall rumbled inward, revealing a passage, and within it, bright red light. Nellith clipped her multi-tool on her belt and grabbed her magenta lightsaber. She held it up high, fingers still trembling as she entered the passage.

The red light warbled as it spoke, in a voice that surprisingly resembled Tallis's.

"My greatest mistake in my studies was her," the voice said. "I wanted to open myself to the power of the dark side of the Force. She claimed she could teach me everything, if I let her in. She claimed that all she wanted from me in return was to help her find her family. I never knew what she meant by that, but I figured I could shortchange her. I was wrong."

The voice sounded frightened. "I don't have much time, before she takes over again. I should have listened to my master, Plagueis. But I didn't. I have doomed the entire galaxy. Whatever I, Snoke, become, let this be said— beware Abeloth, she—"

The light then completely died. Jaina and Nellith turned so they were back to back as they looked around, trying to figure out what extinguished the light. Then Nellith felt an icy cold wind blow through her— and all went black.


	7. Lost Boys

When Nellith awoke, she felt so cold. Memories and a story that was as dark as the chamber pounded in her brain. She could feel him, could feel Snoke in her mind, could feel his withered hands in her skull.

She opened her eyes to see in the infirmary. Everything was too bright, she felt too plugged-in to the Force. She could feel the hum of the infirmary bed beneath her, and the sound of the medic machines felt like a roar. She squinted into the light, every color and dust more jumping out at her.

She couldn't help it, with the tumultuous presence in her head and the cacophony of her senses, she started to cry and writhe. She wasn't even aware that she was floating above the bed now. Everything felt too close, and she felt as if that clawed, withered hand was ripping her head open.

Footsteps shook the room, every vibration bouncing off of her bones. She could hear the sound as loud as thunder, of fairly new, well-made boots slapping down on the cold hard floor.

Then everything quieted. She felt a presence around her in the Force— it was like a rainy afternoon, cold and forlorn, but with the hope of something new. The sounds dimmed to white noise, all touch seemed far beyond her consciousness now, and the sight of everything blurred.

The hand that had been ripping into her brain, Snoke's presence, it all retreated for the new presence that took over all.

As if far away, she could feel a gentle push back down onto the infirmary bed. A hand then reached for the temple of her head, gently.

"This won't hurt, I promise," Tallis said.

Before Nellith could protest, ask, say anything, all went black once more, as the memories drifted away.

* * *

Nellith blinked. A white ceiling was above her, with its harsh, bright glow. She sat up, and saw the medic droids rolling around. She looked around her. She couldn't remember how she had gotten there or what had happened. She reached her hand to her head instinctively. She could feel a presence similar to rain, smelling earthy and feeling forlorn yet optimistic.

A medic droid rolled over.

"Where am I?" Nellith asked.

"The Uphatu Medical Center," the medic replied. "Mistress Jaina dropped you off earlier, a few hours ago. Nothing was physically wrong with you, but she claimed you were unwell."

"Was anyone here?" Nellith asked. She couldn't shake the feeling of absence surrounding her.

"No," the medic droid. "Although I do believe the Supreme Leader will be making a visit relatively soon."

"Alright," Nellith said. "Thank you."

"You are welcome, Mistress Nellith," the droid said, before rolling away.

Nellith shivered, and drew her knees up to her chest, and hugged herself. Something was very wrong, she could feel it.

She then felt a new presence in the Force— one she knew all too well. Her father was like the waves on Anch-To. Warm, friendly, loving, even, and fiercely protective. But darkness lingered under the surface, along with the threat of true power in a storm.

Her father's presence was among her favorite to feel in the Force. She saw him storm into the infirmary, looking angrier than she had seen him in a long time. His fiery lightsaber wouldn't have been out of place, right then and there.

His expression melted when he saw her. Tentative fear and love filled the air as he sat beside her, reaching a large hand out.

Nellith accepted it, and the two sat there a moment.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Empty. Cold. I can't remember anything after entering the tomb," Nellith said. She turned to her father. "What happened?"

"You went in, and you found information about Snoke. . . And found a part of his spirit, or something like that in the tomb, and it took ahold of you," Ben said. "I have no idea why he's gone now."

"What were you going to do, to help me?" Nellith asked.

Ben bit his lip. "I would've tried to draw him into me. I know Snoke. I know his voice, I know how to handle it."

Nellith frowned. "I don't understand."

"Before I was born, Mother always said she felt a dark shadow, over me," Ben said. "Ever since I can remember. . . He was there. Until he died."

"Mum never explained exactly how or why you fell," Nellith said. "Was it because of Snoke."

"Part of it was," Ben said. "A lot of it was."

"Can you explain it to me?" Nellith begged. "I want to know."

"No, you don't." His voice was harsh. "I'm not proud of my story. And I wish it had never happened."

"Jaina said that she wished Grandma Leia had said something about Snoke earlier," Nellith said.

"Jaina needs to keep her mouth shut," Ben growled. "There is a reason we haven't told you about Snoke. But if you feel any part of him in you, you need to tell us. As soon as you can. Can you promise me that?"

"Yes."

Nellith couldn't help but think that she was making a lot promises, lately. Would they start to pile on, start to make more burdens to carry?

Ben hugged his daughter, and the two simply sat there, letting the silence overtake all.


	8. Dreamland

The woods were alive that night. They called to her. Whenever she could fall asleep, she had incredibly vivid dreams of entering the woods, the presence of rain by her side. Waking up was only more confusing, especially in the absence of the rainy presence.

It was the sixth time it happened when Nellith finally got out of bed. Still in a pale blue nightgown, Nellith slipped out of bed. She grabbed her brown Jedi cloak out from where it hung on the stand, and walked out to the balcony.

A cold wind blew through Nellith, and she held her robe closer around her, enjoying the warm fibers. She closed her eyes, and she could've sworn she'd heard a voice calling her. She turned back into her room, and quickly changed into warm clothes, boots, and her belt with her multi-tool and lightsaber.

She left her apartments, following the usual twist of the corridors. She was going to use one of the secret passages to get out— she simply had to get out, the wind was calling her, boiling in her blood.

She approached her favorite corridor passageway— but found that the panel was already loose. Frowning, Nellith slipped in, wondering if Tallis was there, too. She re-secured the panel before continuing into the passageway.

Instead of going the way out she'd discovered the previous week, she went up to where the tower was— the place she'd shown him. As she got closer, she could've sworn she smelled the rain again— despite that it was aggressively snowing outside.

She was almost up the metal rungs sticking out of the ladder formed from piping when she heard muttering.

Nellith covertly looked up into the small room with its peephole. She shivered— it was incredibly cold in the room, much more so at night than in the day.

Tallis was indeed up there, running his hands through his dark hair. In the moonlight, Nellith could see something new— a silver streak running through the front. He was shivering and shaking, and muttering something to himself— but Nellith couldn't quite make out what he was saying. The howling of the wind drowned out his voice.

"Tallis?" she called out as softly as she could manage, as she climbed up.

His body became stiff and rigid, and those lilac-gray eyes widened in something akin to fear.

"Nellith?" He looked around. "How long have you been here? What are you doing? It's the middle of the night!"

"I could ask the same for you," Nellith said, tilting her head to the side a little. "Is everything alright?"

"I'm fine!" the words came out in a panicked burst.

"I think we both know that's not true," Nellith said. "I want to help."

"It's alright, really," he said, smiling weakly. "Just bad dreams. Mom used to have them, too. She said everyone with the Force did."

"Not all the time," Nellith said, although she was inevitably reminded of her own dreams.

"Surely you have a few?" All traces of nervousness had been shut off so quickly, Nellith wondered if she was paranoid, if she was projecting something onto him.

"Every once in a while, but not the majority of the time," Nellith said.

"Tell me one."

"There is one, recently," Nellith admitted. "It's not really a bad dream, not always. Well, parts of it are. But sometimes parts of it change."

"Why don't you explain, it then?" He appeared to be amused by her rambling.

Nellith looked out to the snow. "It's always on a throne. I've got some drawings in my room, sketches, if you'd like to see them. But anyway, I'm always on the throne, with a tiara."

"Sounds awful," Tallis said sarcastically.

"That's not the bad part," Nellith said, swatting at him playfully. "I told you, not all of it's bad. But the part that changes is who's standing around me. Sometimes, I'm in front of a legion of storm troopers, some old man in a gold robe by my side. Sometimes I'm in front of a battlefield where people are dying. Sometimes it's my parents, dueling. One time, it was Aunt Jaina and Dad dueling. Most of the time it's all of my friends and family, and there are cheering people in front of me."

"Some of that does sound bad," Tallis admitted. "But the one you have most of the time doesn't sound too bad."

Nellith looked back to him and bit her lip.

"You're not telling me something," he inferred.

"I'm not sure you want to hear it," Nellith said. She glanced out the window again.

Tallis grabbed her hand so suddenly, she jerked it away, and looked back to him. He took it more gently again, and patted it.

"Tell me."

Later, Nellith would wonder why.

"I'm never alone," she said. "No matter what else happens, there's someone always by my side. You. But not like now. . . No matter what, you always end up wearing this spiky crown dripping in blood."

He froze, recognition in those lilac-gray eyes.

"You know," Nellith said. "You know what it means."

"No, I don't," he said quickly, letting go of her hand.

"Stop lying," Nellith ordered. Her voice was as cold and commanding as her father's.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" He started scrambling down the ladder. "Leave me alone!"

"Tallis, wait—"

But he was gone.

Nellith looked to outside, and thought she saw the snow intensify. But she couldn't be sure.


	9. Dialaman Blue

The next morning, in the breakfast hall, Tallis sat far away from Nellith. She stole glances in his direction, and saw he still had the silver streak, and darker circles under his eyes. She kept wondering if she should go and talk to him, but decided against it every single time.

 _I did nothing wrong,_ she assured herself. _Besides, if he wants to keep secrets, he can. I don't care._

This was disregarding the prominent that fact that in fact, she really did care—more than she liked to admit.

Rather late into breakfast, Kyp Durron swaggered to the table where the Imperial Royal family sat.

"Where's Jaina?" Ben asked.

"Hangover," Kyp said. "She was drinking a lot, last night, and decided to add shots of Dialaman Blue towards the end. And we both know how well Jaina holds down her Dialaman Blue."

"Will she at least be able to function by this afternoon?" Ben asked.

Kyp gave him a look that reminded Ben, rather painfully, of what his sister was like with a hangover.

"Of course not," Ben muttered.

"Damn," Rey said. "She and Nellith were supposed to go to see Maz Kanata. Kanata has some information that she said might be relevant to us."

"Why can't I take Nellith?" Kyp suggested.

Rey choked on her coffee.

"I'm not letting you handle my kid!" Ben protested.

"Hey!" Kyp protested back. "Why not?"

"For one, your drinking problem is worse than Jaina's," Rey said.

"And we both know you're the one who introduced Jaina to drinking," Ben said.

"I took you out too on your twenty-first birthday, may I remind you," Kyp said. "And so I might have a drink—"

"Or five," Ben interjected.

"Or _two_ ," Kyp said pointedly. "I still know Maz. She's delightful."

"I am not leaving my daughter with an alcoholic," Rey insisted.

Ben sucked in a breath, and looked much more interested in the food.

"I won't leave your kid there, Jedi's honor," Kyp promised. "Besides, I'm pretty sure she's got a lightsaber. Worst comes to worst, she has to use it to convince some poor scoundrel to let her hitchhike on his ship back to Uphatu."

"I'd rather not do that," Nellith said quietly.

"I'm joking!" Kyp assured her. "Take it easy, everybody! Why are we all doubting my capabilities as a Jedi now? Luke didn't!"

"Luke didn't get to see your sad descent into getting drunk at bars," Ben said.

"May I add that most of that was your fault," Kyp said. "To be fair, if all of your classmates at Jedi school were either murdered or turned to the dark side, you'd drink a hell of a lot, too."

"Maybe I should just go see Maz Kanata alone," Nellith said.

"No," Rey said immediately. "Maz is an acquired taste. Gods, I'm going to send Kyp, aren't I?"

"Let's just deny the inevitable, Rey," Kyp said. "I'm taking your daughter to see Maz Kanata and see what sweet information she has for us this time. I promise I won't ditch your child in a bar, for fear of that same child having learned from Jaina and murdering me with her lightsaber."

Rey hesitated. "I still don't like it."

"Fair enough," Kyp said. He looked to Nellith. "It'll be fun, kid, don't worry!"

Nellith laughed nervously.

* * *

Nellith stepped outside of the _Twin Suns_ into the sunlight. It filtered through the deciduous trees, and she smiled as it kissed her face. She looked around to see beautiful flowers, and a pristine enchanted wood out of the galactic fairytales. She turned to see Kyp leave the _Twin Suns_ , grinning as well.

"I like Artorias, too," Kyp said. "Come on, Maz'll be waiting."

Nellith nodded, and followed Kyp through the village, into the pub. Kyp walked straight up to the bartender.

"I need to speak to Eyes," Kyp said.

The bartender nodded. "She's running a bit late. She said her job might require aggressive negotiations."

Kyp nodded sagely back. "In that case, I'll order the Firewhiskey with a shot of Dialaman Blue."

"On it," the bartender said.

Kyp took the stool, Nellith reluctantly sitting beside him. The bar was as seedy as the one on Corellia, where they had learned where to find Tallis in the first place.

As soon as Kyp had received his drink, he offered it to Nellith.

"Want a swig?" he asked.

Against her better judgement, Nellith accepted and took a sip. It was apparently too much of a sip, as Kyp almost immediately yanked it back. Her throat burned, and she winced.

"Gods, that's awful," Nellith said. "How can you stand to drink that?"

"I think I burnt all my tastebuds a long time ago," Kyp admitted. "Not sure, though. It's an adult thing."

"Joy," Nellith said. She looked out the window at the forested world of Artorias. "You have your commlink, right?"

"Right," Kyp said. He wasn't paying too close attention.

"Since it's gonna be a while, why don't I go explore the village, and you send a transmission when Maz gets here?" Nellith suggested.

"Sure," Kyp said. "Wait, what?"

"Thanks, I'll see you in a bit!"

Nellith raced out of the pub, curious about the Artorian village.


	10. Force Mystic

Nellith walked into the forest a little, to the back side of some of the buildings in the village. On the side of all these buildings was a pattern, a mural that stretched all down the row. A silvery-blue wisp of smoke was the first thing Nellith saw. She instinctively reached her fingers out, and traced the blue wisp, following it up the mural. Strange animals and flowers Nellith had never seen before in any holos set the exotic garden landscape.

The blue wisps emanated from an image of a young woman in white with green hair, an elderly man dressed in blue, and a young man in black with yellow eyes. Nellith recognized the three from the legends around the galaxy. Almost every belief system incorporated the Father, Daughter, and Son. This part of the mural would not have been out of place anywhere in the galaxy.

However, the blue wisps continued, so Nellith followed them. The blue turned to violet, and Nellith came upon a new scene. The three infamous deities looked younger. The Father was a middle-aged man with wise blue eyes, the Daughter a precocious teenager laughing with the Son. The Father had his arm wrapped around a woman Nellith had never seen represented in any incarnation of the myth. The woman was more plain, and while she had a smile, there was something about it that suggested envy to her.

Still, the violet wisps trailed off, and slowly shifted to red. The garden in the background was no longer beautiful, the plants withering and the animals turning to monsters. It all opened to one last, final scene.

Nellith gasped and stepped away, taken aback by the wrongness of the image. On the left, in front of an obsidian font stood a girl bathed in red with long hair. On the right was a boy in blue, emerging from a pool. Both the boy and the girl looked deeply unhappy. In the center, the woman from the middle picture sat, with a wicked smile, on a throne that Nellith knew all too well. It was the throne in her dreams.

Every detail was exact, spot-on. How could someone have recreated it so perfectly?

"Like the mural?"

Nellith turned to see an elderly woman. She nodded.

"When I was younger, I was part of the project to create that," the elderly woman said. "It was part of a religious preservation project. You see, that was during the days of the Empire. They weren't too keen on the Church of the Force, so they were destroying all the texts with our stories and beliefs. That was why we did things like these, things they couldn't destroy."

"You're a member of the Church of the Force?" Nellith asked.

"Most of Artorias is," the elderly woman replied. There was a strange twinkle in her eye. "Our royal family has always been strong with the Force. That was why they went into hiding after Order 66. You must be from off-world."

"I am," Nellith admitted.

"I saw the lightsaber on your belt," the elderly woman said. "As happy as I am to see the balance and the Jedi Order restored, I can't help but be sad when I see children your age already wielding those things. Life with the Force is a terribly heavy responsibility, not for young children like you to bear. Not yet."

Nellith shifted uncomfortably. "Some of us have to bear it earlier than others."

"But do you?" the elderly woman asked. "You should be having fun, experiencing those teenage passions. Not learning how to balance the universe, how to win wars."

"I've never really had a choice in the matter," Nellith said. Visions of the woods calling to her flashed in her mind's eye. She repressed them. "Great power, great responsibility, you know. Can't be a kid when you've got a power you don't understand."

"Poor child," the elderly woman said. "You need to find peace, and find it soon."

Nellith, for once, was thankful to hear Kyp's voice on the commlink. She removed it from her belt.

"What is it, Kyp?" she asked.

"Eyes is here," he said, his voice slurred slightly.

"Who?"

"Luke Skywalker, who do you think I'm talking about?" Kyp cried.

Nellith looked up to the elderly lady. "Gotta run. Thanks for the advice."

The elderly lady nodded, and Nellith ran off.

* * *

She burst into the room reserved for their secret meeting a few minutes later.

It was in a small but surprisingly luxurious secret lounge with red curtains lined with gold, and in the center was a round table. Kyp sat on one end, holding another drink in his hand, and on the opposite end was a little alien in orange, wearing practical blue clothing and large goggles.

They both turned to see Nellith come in. The little orange alien hit a switch on her goggles, causing her dark eyes to look much larger, taking up the entire glass.

"Interesting," the little orange alien said. "You have his eyes."

"What?" Nellith's hazel eyes darted to Kyp nervously, but he seemed completely unconcerned by the exchange. She looked back to the small orange alien.

"You've got the eyes of someone with too much power," the alien said. "And of someone who's still lost in the past. I see your mother now."

"You knew my parents?" Nellith asked, trying derail the creepy conversation.

"I know the Solos," the orange alien said simply.

"You're Maz Kanata, right?" Nellith asked.

"The one and only," the orange alien said. "Kyp and I were making a trade in information. He said that Jaina Solo had finally taken on an apprentice."

"Yeah, Aunt Jaina's great," Nellith said.

"She does have a fiery spirit," Maz agreed. "But I'm curious as to you, Nellith Solo. The Skywalkers have been around for five generations now. Some have been firmly on the side of the light, some the dark. Your father, for so long, broke his family's heart on the dark side. But what kind of Skywalker will you be?"

"I assume the light," Nellith said awkwardly. "I've always wanted to be a Jedi. Be like my mum and dad."

"Ah, so you really are a Skywalker," Maz said. "All the Skywalkers, except for one, wanted to join the Jedi. You've got that sense of justice even Anakin had."

"You knew Anakin Skywalker?" Nellith asked.

"Once," Maz said. "Nellith, I have been around for a very long time. You know plenty of the important people to the Force, if you allow yourself to get in the action."

"I see," Nellith said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Your future is unclear," Maz said. "Oh, you do have plenty of light. But the brightest light casts the darkest shadow."

"I'll keep that in mind," Nellith said. "Do you know anything about Snoke. . . Or—"

A name came to her, as if in a dream.

"Abeloth," Nellith finished.

Maz frowned. "That is beyond my time, but I have heard rumors. Where did you get that name from?"

"I don't remember," Nellith trailed off, and reached her hand to her temple.

Maz regarded her with a new light.

"The tragedy of Centerpoint Station occurred before I was born," Maz said. "Abeloth is a creature in the Force older than Snoke, older than most of the galaxy. She is not to be trifled with. Little is known about her. Whatever you know, stay away. Don't look for more."

"Really, Maz?" Kyp said. "What could be that bad?"

"You really don't want to know," Maz said as she adjusted her goggles. "But I can tell you what I know about Andromeda Hux."

Nellith finally sat down at the table. "What have you got?"

"There's a planned trip to Yavin IV for the inner circle, the Bogan Squadron, as they're called," Maz said. "Only Andromeda Hux and the Force-wielders. We don't know what they'll be doing there, but my sources say that in four days, they will be there."

"Interesting," Kyp said. "Anything else, Maz?"

"I'll keep you posted," Maz said. "It was charming, meeting you, Nellith Solo."

"You as well," Nellith replied.


	11. Darkness Rises

The next morning, Nellith reported to the meditation room, where Jaina was waiting for her. Looking a little weary, but otherwise the same as usual, the Jedi Master sat cross-legged in her black jumpsuit, ready to meditate.

Fountains abounded the room, to help create a more calming atmosphere. Nellith sat down across from Jaina, who smiled.

"Sorry about yesterday," Jaina said. "I like Dialaman Blue, but Dialaman Blue certainly doesn't like me."

"It's alright," Nellith said. "I didn't mean to make you that worried."

A flash of guilt passed over Jaina's face. "I shouldn't have let that happen to you. I wasn't a responsible teacher. Luke would be disappointed."

"To be fair, you can't be as disappointing as Dad was to Luke," Nellith said.

"Oh, Ben had that talk with me yesterday too," Jaina said. "I'm not supposed to tell you about Snoke anymore."

"That's stupid," Nellith said.

"Honestly, Ben's really stupid sometimes," Jaina agreed. "But I think we're going to have more than a friendly duel if I say anymore."

"Then tell me about Grandma Leia," Nellith said. "I know she was a politician, a general, and a princess. I know she was as loved by the galaxy as Padmé Amidala was. But Maz said she rejected the Jedi."

Jaina sighed. "Mom and I didn't get along. I was more of my dad's kid. But Mom. . . Mom was amazing. Even though she never joined the Jedi, Luke did teach her the ways of the Force. And she could do some pretty cool things with it. I think she never joined, though, because of Darth Vader."

"Her father," Nellith said.

"Not in Mom's eyes," Jaina said. "Sure, he was biologically, but as far as she was concerned, her true dad was Bail Organa, who died with the rest of Alderaan."

"Wow," Nellith said. "And Vader was there, when it happened."

"Even if Tarkin was the one who pushed the button, Mom always held Vader responsible," Jaina said with a shrug. "I don't entirely understand all of it, myself. Come on, we better start some meditations. Gotta keep up with the training, and not just the fun stuff."

Nellith nodded, and prepared to clear her mind.

* * *

Being able to practice dueling with her husband was the most Rey had had in years. Her blue saber-staff on the training mode, she twirled it into a blue whirling shield as Ben attempted a strike, only to be sent stumbling backward a few steps.

Rey laughed good-naturedly, and reached over to help him up. Ben smirked and accepted it.

"I haven't figured out how to get past that, yet," Ben admitted as he got to his feet.

"Someday you will," Rey said with a shrug. "Want to go for best two out of three?"

"We should probably return to our duties," Ben said.

"I need to check on Tallis," Rey admitted. "I left him to duel with Kiernan, but I think we need to have a talk."

"He doesn't look good," Ben admitted. "Are you sure you don't want me to—"

"I agreed to teach him the ways of the Force," Rey interrupted. "It's my responsibility to save him from his fate."

"I don't want you putting everything on your shoulders," Ben said, placing his hand over the exposed scar on Rey's right shoulder. Shaped like two hands reaching out for each other, it reminded him of how long she had waited for him. He cursed his stupidity over and over again— for making her wait, yet again.

"I can handle it," Rey said. "We both know I'm good at waiting, and fixing things."

Ben nodded. He was about to lean in and kiss her when he sensed Kiernan's presence. He stiffened and pulled away to see Kiernan dragging a rather sorry-looking Tallis behind him.

"What is the matter, Kiernan?" Rey asked, exasperated as she whirled around.

"Do you want to tell her, or are you going to make me?" Kiernan demanded.

"I didn't do anything!" Tallis protested.

"I sense great darkness in this boy!" Kiernan shouted, pushing Tallis forward. The boy fell over, but quickly scrambled to his feet. "You need to do something!"

"Wait, what?" Rey and Ben exchanged a look of fear.

"I was teaching him how to peer into another's mind during a duel, to predict the next move, and I found a great darkness," Kiernan said, much more calmly. "It was greater than what I once sensed in your daughter."

Rey could feel Ben stiffen even more, and realized Kiernan and Ben were in the middle of a glaring contest.

"Alright, everyone, let's calm—"

"You've been suspicious of everyone since you came here," Ben accused. "You've come with accusations about the Knights of Ren, about my daughter, and now another Jedi Apprentice. My question is, do you really not see any darkness in yourself, or are we so lucky to be graced with the most pure of Jedi?"

"We're talking about a great propensity for evil beyond average!" Kiernan yelled. "The Knights of Ren were traitors to Luke Skywalker, and I cannot understand what you, Rey, see in these people!"

"What are we doing?" Rey demanded. "We cannot seriously be arguing about this! Kiernan, let me take care of Tallis, Ben, go do whatever you need to be doing right now, and Kiernan, go take the rest of the day off! Is that understood?"

The training room went silent at hearing their leader yell.

"Darkness is rising," Kiernan said quietly. "In all of us, if we're not vigilant."

He turned on his heel and left, leaving the training room to speculate on what he meant.


	12. The Ice Caves

" _Nellith. Nellith._ "

She scrambled out of bed, and raced out to the balcony. The wind strengthened, cutting into her bare arms. She closed her eyes— she could still feel the call of the woods. It had been luring her for too long— and it wanted to break free again.

She quickly tied her hair back into one bun, and changed into warm robes and boots, and left her apartments. She knew exactly how she was going to do this.

It had been too long since she'd come to his door. She hesitated before knocking.

"Tallis? It's me, Nellith." A vulnerability had come into her voice, that she had to ask these days. They weren't in a place where she could just ask, like she had for a long time since she met him.

She heard cursing and things being knocked over, a few seconds before the door slid open.

Tallis looked in even worse shape. His circles were so dark, they looked nearly black, and there were more streaks of gray in his hair. His pajamas were disheveled, and she thought she could even see bruises on the skin that was exposed.

"What do you want?"

His voice was so aggressive, Nellith almost reconsidered what she was about to do. But she pushed aside all her concerns— this was a way to return her life to the way it used to be.

"It's not about any of that dream stuff," Nellith said. "I want to explore the woods and the caves."

"At this time in the night?" Tallis asked incredulously.

"When else would I have the time?" Nellith pointed out. "Please, Tallis. It's calling to me. I can't stand to leave it alone. Besides, I just want a fun adventure, just you and me. Things can be normal again. I can't stand how everything is changing."

Understanding flooded Tallis's expression. He peered down the hallway.

"Come on," he said. "I'll change in the fresher."

Nellith nodded, and followed him in.

His apartment was a mess of furniture knocked over, flimsi sheets with scribbles and sketches all over them scattered all over the floor. Clothes were strewn on furniture or in a heap just short of the laundry bin.

As Tallis went into the fresher to change, Nellith realized that he was falling apart. She knelt down to pick up one of the sheets.

She couldn't read the scribbled writings, but the sketches she saw were all too clear. They were all artifacts from the storage room, the ones she and Jaina had recovered on Korriban.

She set down the paper, and wondered what else was hidden in Tallis's apartment. Just as she was about to flick the lights on, however, she saw Tallis come out of the fresher, dressed in warm clothes.

"Ready to explore some caves?" asked Tallis, a grin on his face.

* * *

They'd managed to leave via passageway, and found a speeder bike that had been abandoned outside. With some quick fixes from Nellith, it was quickly put in operation. They sped through the snowy forest, to the great expanse of the ice caves.

Nellith braked in front of it, and closed her eyes again. Trusting the lure of the ice cave, she disembarked.

"Come on," she said.

"Should we even be here?" Tallis asked as they entered the ice cave.

"It's not like there isn't anything we can't take on with our lightsabers on this planet," Nellith assured him. She unclipped her lightsaber from her belt, just as she heard a rustling noise. She stiffened, looking around as her eyes adjusted to the dark ice cave.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a shadow dart past. Nellith turned, unable to see it. Still, she approached the wall of ice, seeing her own reflection— surprisingly clear. Yet when she was close enough to touch, the face morphed. No longer was it hers— but it did look familiar, with a narrower bone structure, a button nose, and full red lips.

"Hello, Nellith," Princess Leia said with a smile.

Nellith stepped back. "You can't be— you can't be here. You're dead!"

Leia nodded. "I may be dead, but that doesn't mean I'm not here. I've watched you for most of your life."

As she said that, other figures joined Leia in the ice. Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala, even the legendary Shmi. But they were blurrier, farther away than Leia.

"What is this place?" Nellith asked.

"These Ice Caves are a place where the Force bridges the living and the dead," Leia said. "I don't understand much of it, myself. Luke was the scholar, the one who wanted the Force."

Her voice had turned unexpectedly bitter.

"Aunt Jaina said that you didn't want to be a Jedi, that you didn't want to be like your father," Nellith recalled.

"I didn't," Leia said. "I never got over it, not like Luke did. He could always forgive. I never have been a forgiving person. In that way, that made me closer to Vader than even I knew."

"I didn't know for the longest time what my dad was," Nellith admitted. "I didn't take it very well."

Leia nodded, her expression understanding. "It's not easy, being a Skywalker, is it?"

"The strange thing is, I don't mind being a Skywalker," Nellith said.

"You're strong enough to carry the burdens of the past," Leia said. "Some of your friends are not."

Nellith frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I can't intervene in the world of the Living too much, but here's what I can tell you," Leia said. "The past is about to catch up with Tallis."

At that moment, Nellith heard Tallis cry out, and turned around just in time to see a ghost or phantom of some sort blow through Tallis, knocking him to the ground. Nellith glanced back to the ice, but Leia and her family was gone. She looked back to Tallis and rushed to his side. He was ice-cold and was barely breathing.

"Oh, no," Nellith whispered. Her first impulse was to try and drag him out, but he was too heavy for her. It was only a few seconds later when the idea to lift him with the Force occurred to her.

"Hang on, Tallis," Nellith said, and she focused on lifting him with the Force. She managed to get him hovering a few feet off the ground. With that, she sent him onto the back of the speeder they had used.

Nellith revived the engine, and flew as fast as she dared, praying she wasn't too late.


	13. Constellations

Rey awoke, sensing her daughter's distress in the Force. Ben sat up beside her, and they shared a look. They quickly put clothes on and ran down to the foyer of the Imperial Palace, ready to hurt whatever had caused their daughter such distress.

The palace doors swung open as Nellith half-dragged, half-carried an unconscious Tallis in.

Ben rushed forward, taking him from Nellith.

"What happened?" Ben demanded.

"We went exploring in the ice caves, and we saw some Force Ghosts in them, and one went through Tallis, and he just went unconscious," Nellith rambled, sobbing. "I'm so sorry, if I'd known—"

"He's ice cold, we need to get him hooked up to a life support," Ben said.

"We'll talk about this later," Rey said. She grabbed her commlink out of a pocket. "We need a transport as soon as possible! We've got an unconscious Padawan with unknown symptoms but needs a life support!"

Ben rushed off towards the Uphatu medical center, leaving Rey to comfort Nellith.

* * *

Nellith entered the room in the medical center. Sterile and white, it wasn't the most comforting place, but was a sharp contrast to the majority of First Order rooms in the Imperial compound.

Tallis lay on one of the beds, still unconscious, and hooked up to several medical machines.

"He stabilized last night, but we don't understand what's going on," Rey said. "He's blocked his mind off from everyone."

"I'm so sorry," Nellith said. "If I'd known—"

"To be fair, we didn't even know that was there," Rey said. "A cave that can bridge the gap between the living and the dead. . . "

"Are you going to go and see it?" Nellith asked.

"I sent Kiernan to take a look," Rey said. "Mostly to get him out of my hair."

Nellith gave a laugh in surprise.

"I trust him, and he means well," Rey said. "But he doesn't know how to forgive, quite yet."

Nellith nodded, looking back to Tallis. What had she done?

"Something's been happening to him for a long time," Nellith murmured. "I don't understand."

"You weren't the only one who ignored the signs," Rey said. "I knew them, but I kept thinking I could figure it out. I was wrong, too."

Nellith leaned her head on Rey's shoulder. It seemed that the mother and daughter had less time together since they had left Aquilae. It was funny, how allowing more people into their little life had made it so much bigger, but left them with so little time for each other.

Rey wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulder and smiled sadly. "All we can do is wait. I know how hard that can be."

"Does it get any better?" Nellith asked.

"The wait might be the hardest part, but the joy of seeing them again after the wait— that's the best part," Rey said.

Nellith nodded.

The relative silence of the infirmary was interrupted by the beeping of Rey's commlink.

"Kiernan must've found something," Rey said. "I need to take care of this."

Nellith nodded, and Rey smiled sadly before walking out. Nellith looked back to Tallis. She reached out her hand to touch his. It was still surprisingly cold. Then, all of a sudden, Tallis's lilac-gray eyes flashed open.

A medic droid came over to help unplug him, essentially. Nellith couldn't help but notice how still he was, how he seems barely conscious, or even alive at all.

The medic droid finally rolled back, and shakily, Tallis started to prop himself up on his elbows, before carefully sitting up.

"Tallis?" Nellith's voice was tentative.

"What happened?" he asked, sounding scared.

"You passed out when that ghost went through you," Nellith said. She hesitated. "Tallis, what's going on?"

"What do you mean?" he asked defensively. Already, he was retreating, closing her off. She felt helplessly angry.

"Have you taken a look at yourself lately?" Nellith demanded. "Tallis, you look tired. Your hair's turning gray. You're only fifteen, for the Force's sake! Something's going on, and everyone can tell. We want to help you, but we can't, not if you leave us in the dark."

He met her eyes, his face expressionless. That was, for a moment. Then the tears started.

"I tried so hard to hide it," he said. "I didn't want anyone to know."

Nellith reached her hand out, and he took it, gripping it as if it were an anchor to life itself.

"I've been dreaming of Snoke and Sidious and Revan, ever since I left Corellia," Tallis said. "They've made promises, threats— all of it. I've been struggling with it for a long time. But things got worse after you came back from Korriban."

"Something happened, didn't it?" All the pieces were starting to fall into place for Nellith.

"You were floating and freaking out," Tallis said. "And I could sense a shred of Snoke's ghost in you from some holocron or spirit you encountered on Korriban. I lured it out, and into me. Blood is highly valued by the Sith."

"So now you've been struggling with Snoke in your head ever since," Nellith realized.

Tallis nodded, and swiped his sleeve across his tear-stained face. "I thought I could win this on my own."

"Oh, Tallis." Nellith's voice was sympathetic.

"There's more," Tallis said. "I learned some things, from having Snoke up here."

He gestured to his head.

"There's more of his spirit somewhere else, and Andromeda Hux has whatever vessel contains it," Tallis said. "I don't know what she's going to do with it, but—"

"We need to be there when the ceremony happens tomorrow," Nellith realized.

"What ceremony?"

"The one Maz Kanata got word of," Nellith said.

The two teenagers exchanged a panicked look before scrambling to their feet and out of the medical center.


	14. Yavin IV

The two teenagers raced out into the hall, where Rey was on her commlink. She turned as she heard the footsteps.

"Tallis, you're—"

"We need to be on Yavin IV tomorrow," Tallis interrupted. "Something really bad is going to happen, and I need to be there."

"Slow down, what's going on?" Rey asked.

Nellith and Tallis quickly relayed what they knew. Rey sighed loudly, and turned to grab her commlink.

"Jaina, you're really not going to like this," Rey said. "We need a ship to Yavin IV, stat, and you're taking Nellith and Tallis."

Several curse words exploded from the commlink, including some new ones. Nellith mentally catalogued them as she waited for Jaina to finish her tirade.

"What is this for?" Jaina asked.

"They're going to have to fill you in during the ride," Rey said. "If you want to make it to Yavin IV before the next cycle, you need to leave within the next hour."

"Kriff, Rey, I'll do it," Jaina said.

The transmission ended, and Rey turned to the two teenagers.

"I'd suggest you get down to the _Twin Suns_ fast," she said mildly. "She's not in a great mood. I'd also suggest you don't use any new vocabulary she might teach you."

* * *

By the time Nellith and Tallis had made it down to the hangar, Jaina had already refueled and fired up the _Twin Suns_.

"Get in," Jaina ordered. "This better be good, considering that I was sleeping!"

Nellith nodded rather meekly, Tallis much more confidently. The two scrambled into the cockpit, Nellith into the co-pilot's seat, and Tallis right behind her. It was only a few seconds before Jaina entered, and she slammed the button to close the loading ramp and stormed over to the pilot's seat. She pointed to Tallis.

"Start talking," Jaina ordered. She turned to the panel, and she and Nellith began takeoff procedure.

"We need to be at Yavin IV, where Andromeda Hux is going to summon Snoke's ghost," Tallis said.

"More Snoke? Joy," Jaina muttered. "How did you figure this one out, then?"

"He's been calling to me for a long time," Tallis said. "And after the incident with Nellith in the Sith tomb, I took whatever— I guess shred— of his spirit, and last night, I could feel it struggling to get to the rest of his ghost, where Hux is."

Jaina froze, then swiveled around to face Tallis. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"I thought I could handle it— blood matters to the Sith," Tallis said.

"You're of Snoke's bloodline?" Jaina demanded.

"Aunt Jaina, we need to get to Yavin," Nellith said quietly.

Jaina held up a hand, and looked quite angry. "You didn't answer my question."

"Yes," Tallis said. "I don't know where he fits— but Mom always said he was an ancestor, too."

Jaina blinked. "How many Sith Lords are in your family?"

"More than I'd like to say," Tallis admitted, looking down at his hands.

Jaina gave a nod and a thousand-yard stare before swiveling back around to finish the takeoff procedure. The _Twin Suns_ soared through the atmosphere of Uphatu, and into hyperspace seamlessly.

As soon as that happened, Jaina turned to Nellith.

"I want to make sure Kyp didn't leave some grenades in here— could you check the weapons' locker, please?"

Nellith nodded, despite finding Jaina's query to be quite strange. She got up and headed into the back part of the ship and opened the weapons locker. Inside, there were in fact three grenades that looked like a rather illegal model, and a few rifles. Nellith pocketed a well-used DL-44, recognizing it as the famous blaster her grandfather had used.

She locked the weapons locker and headed back into the cockpit.

"Hey, wasn't the StarShatter series of grenades banned back during the Empire—"

Nellith stopped dead in front of the cockpit.

"What happened to Tallis?" Nellith asked, looking at his conspicuous absence from his seat.

"Fresher," Jaina said mildly.

At that moment, Nellith felt a presence in the Force like the rain building into a thunderstorm, ready to strike, to lash out—

She then heard muffled hitting and groans from one of the storage closets. Nellith rose out of her seat, and she had just reached out her hand to open the closet door when Nellith was frozen.

Not by her own body, but by the Force. By Jaina.

When Jaina let go, Nellith whipped around, angry. The Force roared within her like a fire that had just been stoked.

"Why is he in the storage closet?" Nellith demanded.

"Get your head out of your heart, kid," Jaina said, facing away. "We should not have brought him here."

"Why, what are you talking about?" Nellith asked.

"With the Second Order, and all the Sith blood, he's probably been up to more than anyone realizes," Jaina said.

"But Mum let him come—"

"No offense, but sometimes Rey is too forgiving for her own good," Jaina said. "We're struck with him for now, so we'll keep him in the closet until we can actually get him away from his possible allies. Is that understood?"

"Perfectly," Nellith said. Her face was calm and serene, but underneath she could still feel that mighty roar within.

Before she could say anything, the ship jerked out of hyperspace. Nellith heard the thud of a large weight falling against the door of the storage closet, and lots of muffled yelling.

Still, Nellith forced herself to listen to what her aunt was saying. The more she thought about it, the more she realized how little really did sync up.

Her thoughts were interrupted as they landed in the jungle, near a river. It was only a short walk away from the Massassi temples, were Second Order ships could be seen from above. Nellith grabbed her lightsaber and blaster, and started to walk out the Twin Suns.

She hesitated only once, in the doorway, looking to the storage closet.

"Don't worry, it's properly ventilated," Jaina assured her niece. "Come on, we've got Force rituals to stop."

They made it through the woods quickly and without disturbance. Now the two female Jedi knelt in the bushes, watching the Second Order make preparations for the ritual.

"What are we going to do?" Nellith asked.

"We observe, and look for any artifacts that might be used in some Sith ritual," Jaina said. "I bet you that there's plenty around here. If we remove them, we might not have to figure out what they're up to."

"I think Tallis might've had the better idea," Nellith admitted.

"We can't trust him," Jaina said, exasperated. "Hells, you are like Rey, with that stupid optimism."

Nellith stiffened at the jab at her mother, but said nothing.

"We meet back at the shuttle in half an hour," Jaina said. "Agreed?"

Nellith nodded, albeit nervously.

"May the Force be with you," Jaina said, tapping Nellith's back before she raced off.

Nellith waited a few minutes for the lightsaber-wielding troopers to pass by, and crept out of the bushes, using random bits of architecture to hide from other troopers. She realized very quickly that there were only sixteen troopers on-site.

The inner circle, she remembered. She entered into a stone tomb, and discovered that the inside was empty, not like the heavily-manned outside. Her heart pounded against her chest, and her hand was sweaty on the hilt of her lightsaber as she proceeded with caution.

Nellith stopped right before a doorway, and peeked inside.

Two troopers were looking at the artifacts all laid out on a table.

"Boss wants these pronto," one trooper said.

"Do you think she'll really pull it off, what she wants to do?" the other asked.

"I doubt it," the trooper said in a lowered voice. "Never heard of it happening."

"That never stops Hux," the second one pointed out.

There was a beeping on one's commlink, and a holo of Andromeda Hux appeared.

"I need reinforcements along the south side!" Andromeda yelled. "There's an aggressive Jedi— a Solo, if I were to guess!"

"Where are you?" The first trooper demanded.

"Picking up new cargo near the river," Andromeda said with a smirk.

Nellith's heart stopped.

 _They've got Tallis— and they're about to get Jaina,_ Nellith realized.

"We'll be there as soon as we can," the second trooper promised. "Come on, Snips."

Nellith retreated into the shadows as quickly as she could. The two troopers sprinted past her, leaving the artifacts for Nellith to destroy. She made sure they were gone before walking into the room and igniting her magenta lightsaber.

Two holocrons, a green stone blade, a staff, a circlet, and a golden robe with burn marks down it were all laid out.

For a moment, Nellith hesitated, wondering what was in these artifacts, about their history. How much knowledge was about to be lost by what she was going to do?

You're stopping some Sith ritual, which is bound to be no good, Nellith reminded herself. Just do it.

She sliced at the table, going into a frenzy, shredding the table, robes, the blade, all of it. When she tried to break the holocrons, however, dark energies emerged from them, hanging in the air. They started to float towards her, and she took a step back.

Still, the two dark energies flew into her. Nellith dropped to her knees, crumpling forward— her heart felt so cold, she thought she might die.

It was only when she heard footsteps that she had realized she was screaming, and had dropped her lightsaber. She summoned the blade to her hand, and rose to her feet just in time to see Andromeda Hux and two troopers next to her.

Hux's jaw dropped. "The artifacts!"

Hux ran past Nellith to the remains of the table, and dropped to her knees, sobbing in anger. It rolled over Nellith in the Force, and she stumbled, unsteadily, and dropped her lightsaber. One of the troopers summoned it, and Nellith didn't care.

In fact, her hands had flown to over her heart, where she felt a burning, icy hatred threatening to completely overtake her with everything she had. It was all she could do to fight it off.

"Wait," a second trooper said. "I can feel it. Not all is lost. The holocrons' energies passed into the Solo brat."

Before Nellith could protest, do anything, that second trooper grabbed her hands and forced them behind Nellith's back.

"Put her with the other prisoners," Andromeda said as she rose, a manic grin on her face. "We will be able to do it, after all."


	15. Abeloth

Nellith was dragged kicking and fighting into a circular room with a skylight illuminating the center pavilion. From one of the levels within the spirals, there were hooks from which Jaina and Tallis were cuffed, their cuffs dangling from the hooks. Tallis, being the tallest of them, dangled three above the ground.

One of the troopers then forced Nellith's hands in front of her, cuffed her, and used the Force to levitated her onto a third hook. Nellith looked down to see Andromeda smirking up at them.

"I'll be back in one hour for the ceremony," Andromeda said, looking all-too cheerful. "Guards will be posted at the door. I wouldn't try to leave. The results would be unpleasant."

"You're not getting away with this," Jaina growled. When Nellith glanced at her face, she saw that Jaina had several new bruises there, as well as others Nellith was sure were concealed from sight by her clothes.

"You don't even know what we're getting away with," Andromeda said gleefully. "Well, except for the dear Solo brat, now."

Nellith could feel the eyes of Jaina and Tallis upon her, and the spirits of the holocrons raging inside her.

Andromeda then smirked, turned on her heel, and exited the room, leaving the three Jedi in solitude.

"What happened?" Jaina asked.

"I tried to destroy the artifacts,"'Nellith said. "But it turns out, Sith holocrons possess you if you try to destroy them."

"That means whatever vessel Snoke was in," Tallis realized.

"It's now me," Nellith finished.

"You have to fight it, listen to me," Tallis said. "I know you can do it. But you have to be on your guard. Snoke, Abeloth, they make promises they can't keep, and will do anything to make you do what they want."

"Abeloth. . . Maz Kanata wouldn't even talk about that," Nellith said. "How do you know about it?"

"More family history," Tallis said bitterly. "Abeloth and Snoke weren't always the same, but now they are. And that makes them incredibly dangerous."

"I never thought I'd want to hear your family history, but now's the time," Jaina said. "Tallis, what do you know?"

"Abeloth is part of a story that is the base of all religions of the galaxy," Tallis said. "The Ones. The Father, the Son, the Daughter. The Light, the Dark, the Balance. The deities of the Force, or so they say. I personally think they're just really powerful Force-wielders who deluded themselves into being gods."

"The mural on Artorias," Nellith murmured. "It showed a Mother as well."

"Abeloth was the Mother," Tallis agreed. "The story goes that she bathed in the Pool of Knowledge and drank from the Font of Immortality, both of which were supposed to have given the Son and the Daughter their powers. It was too much power, and she wanted to expand beyond their homeworld of Mortis. So they locked her spirit away in Centerpoint Station."

"I've heard of that," Jaina said. "Visited it, even. Ancient space station. I helped reprogram it when I was eleven years old."

"Well, Centerpoint Station got built onto later, after the Tragedy of Centerpoint Station," Tallis added. "About three-thousand years ago, there was a Jedi Knight by the name of Snoke. He got frustrated by his master restricting him access to the information about the dark side, and began to tap into it. He was powerful enough to make contact with Abeloth without ever setting foot on Centerpoint. He made an agreement with Abeloth— he'd take her power, her knowledge— in return for helping her find her 'family.'"

"The Light Son and the Dark Daughter," Nellith remembered. "They weren't her children, were they?"

"No," Tallis said. "They were two of the strongest Force-wielders of their era, lovers, in fact. Abeloth kidnapped them and forced them to drink and bathe from the respective pools and fonts in order to be like the children Abeloth had before. But unlike the previous two, the Son was Light and Daughter was Dark. And they ruled the Throne of Balance for about a thousand years before Revan came along. But that's another story."

"So what is Andromeda going to do?" Jaina asked.

"She's going to make the same deal Snoke did with Abeloth, except that she thinks she's summoning Snoke," Nellith answered. The details of it pounded in her brain, and she forced them to the back of her mind. "We can't let her do that. It'll bring back a darkness my mother nearly died to rid the world of. We can't let this happen."

"No bantha poodoo here," Jaina muttered. "Ben's going to kill me for letting this happen."

"You didn't know that's what destroying the holocrons would do," Nellith said. She winced, feeling something trying to push her aside. "And Mum wanted us on this mission."

"I still should've done something to protect you," Jaina said. "I could've done better, but I didn't."

"There's some things we all could've done better," Tallis said. "Well, except for Nellith, who almost actually accomplished the mission."

"I could've actually gotten away," Nellith said. Then she gasped, her body contorting beyond her control.

 _No, this is my body._ She tried to force the muscles to move the way she wanted, but it wouldn't— not without a fight.

"You can fight it," Tallis assured her. "Don't give in."

Nellith gritted her teeth, one of the few actions she still felt control over. "I'm not sure I can."

"I know you can," Tallis said. "You're stubborn when you want something. And if you want to stop them, now's the time to be stubborn."

Nellith nodded.

* * *

She didn't know how long it had been since, but relatively soon after, Andromeda and all of the Force-wielders of the Second Order walked in.

Andromeda smiled. "Ready to begin?"

Without hesitating, the dark spirit within Nellith began to overtake her like a tidal wave, and it was all she could do to stay afloat. A trooper reached out a hand, and she could feel the trooper prying the dark spirit forward. Then, all went black for Nellith.


	16. The Scream

Tallis panicked. He could see from the ancient look in Nellith's eyes, that she was gone—- Abeloth and Snoke were what remained. He could feel part of Snoke in himself, a shred of a spirit trying to rejoin with the rest.

 _No_ , he thought, _we can't let that happen._

"Supreme Leader," Andromeda said. "I need your power, to finish what you started, what the traitor Kylo Ren failed to do."

"Ah, daughter of Armitage Hux," Snoke said, speaking through Nellith. "I knew the Huxes were of a noble bloodline. You'll do nicely."

"How may I take in your insight, and your wisdom?" Andromeda asked.

"Take the blood of my descendant, and the blood of a Skywalker, and unite my spirit," Snoke declared. "Then I will be able to see within, and leave the vessel of a pathetic child."

Tallis couldn't describe how wrong it felt, hearing Nellith's voice and seeing her face contort the way Snoke or Abeloth or whatever they wanted to be called at that point. He had to do something.

 _But what?_

A good kick gave him all the momentum he needed. He landed on the ground in an instant, immediately sticking the landing, and tried to summon a lightsaber to his hand with the Force.

A trooper came up behind him, grabbing him by the arms so tightly he couldn't move.

"Sorry, my liege," Andromeda said. "We're going to have to draw a little blood. Hopefully this time you'll accept our generous offer. We won't truly be recognized as the successors to the Empire if we don't have the blood of Palpatine and Snoke."

"That sounds like your problem," Tallis said. "I am going to be a Jedi."

"We'll see," Andromeda said. She pulled a vibroblade, and cut a slit on the palm of Tallis's hand. He let out a little gasp, as she pressed her hand onto his. She then moved past, as one of the troopers attempted to force Tallis back up on that hook.

He stomped on the foot of the trooper, and then was able to maintain enough leverage to elbow the trooper right in the stomach. He whirled around, now free, and managed to take the lightsaber from the trooper with the Force.

It was double-bladed, thank the Force, and Tallis immediately turned it on, ready to fight. The red blade hovered an inch from Andromeda's neck, singing her red hair.

In response, all of the other troopers ignited their sabers. Andromeda did not even turn around.

"Not even your status as the Emperor and face of this movement, which you have not yet accepted, would protect you if you tried that," Andromeda said calmly.

Tallis stood his ground, unsure of his next move.

One of the troopers lowered Jaina so that Andromeda could take blood from her.

"Jaina Solo, how low you have fallen indeed, Sword of the Jedi," Andromeda drawled.

Jaina spit in Andromeda's face.

Tallis sensed rage from Nellith, and turned to see a little bit of recognition, the signature in the Force coming from her body changing, ever so slightly.

He looked back to Andromeda just in time to see her cut Jaina's palm. The trooper raised Jaina back up, and then Tallis. He still held the lightsaber in his hands, his blood covering the metal cylinder. Andromeda then walked back to where Nellith dangled.

"I'm ready to assist," Snoke said. "Use your followers to pull me away from this pathetic child, and I will come to you."

Every single trooper and Force-wielder in the room allied with Andromeda outstretched their hand. Tallis could feel them prying into his mind, looking for that shred of Snoke within that he had kept at bay for far too long.

Yet he felt it pull away. The freedom was relieving, but the implications made his heart race.

The anger beside him within Nellith grew and grew to an inferno of rage that was so burning and cold, Tallis felt he would surely die, feeling it for one more second, one more moment. Nellith screwed her eyes shut, a final resistance. When she opened them again, she let out a terrible scream.

* * *

Nellith came to screaming, feeling rage, fear, and love all at once in a confusing tangle of emotions she couldn't separate from each other. Where one began and the other ended, she couldn't tell. All she knew was that she needed to scream.

Before her eyes, as she screamed, the troopers either ran or collapsed on the ground. The only only people that weren't affected that stayed nearby were Tallis, Jaina, and Andromeda. The room began to shake, the lightsabers and other objects on the troopers cracked, about to shatter into a million shards.

"Yes," Andromeda said, an ancient look in her eye. "Give into your anger, give into the dark side of the Force!"

Nellith's scream only continued, louder and louder, until the hooks and handcuffs shattered with the entire building. Andromeda just stood there, impervious to it all.

Now free, Nellith strode forward, outstretching her hands. The rocks and rubble and shards lifted at her will, and she flung them all at Andromeda Hux.

Andromeda raised a hand, and the rubble stopped in a bubble hovering all around her. Then it all sprang forward in a blast. Jaina and Tallis hit the ground, but Nellith outstretched her own hand in front of her, making a wall of rubble right where it stopped.

With one last scream, she made the wall shatter, and explode all around. In a few moments, a few heartbeats, Nellith felt the last of the adrenaline pulse away, and realized what she'd done.

She reached her hands to her throat, which hurt more than she could've imagined it, then looked down to her hands.

She'd tapped into the dark side, and while it had felt so good, so cathartic in the moment, she only felt shame and fear now.

"You've got the same power as your father, and his mother, and her father before her," Andromeda said. "You are a true Skywalker. I look forward to seeing how you strike the balance."

With that, Andromeda ran to find her other troopers, but it didn't look as if she'd lost in any way.

Nellith dropped to her knees, and wrapped her arms around herself in attempt to hug. She was surprised to feel Tallis's arm around her.

"We've gotta get out of here," Tallis said, looking around to see if any troopers had returned to the site of the scream.

"I failed," Nellith said, ignoring him in her dizzying labyrinth of thoughts. "I couldn't keep the darkness at bay. I'm just like my father. I'm like Vader."

She could feel Jaina stiffen behind her.

"No, we all had a part in this," Jaina said. "But we can talk about this later— we've got to go, Nel."

Hearing her nickname ignited a final spark, a reserve kernel within her, and she managed to get onto her feet. She picked up her lightsaber where it had been left on the ground, as well as Jaina's and her new DL-44.

She then started into the jungle, feeling completely numb.


	17. Dark Journey

Once the _Twin Suns_ leapt into lightspeed, Nellith left the cockpit to sit alone in the back, near the weapons locker. The events of the day kept replaying in her mind. She didn't even check to see what her scream had done to the troopers who had fallen to the ground.

Were they dead? Or just unconscious?

Both were still horrifying possibilities. She looked down to the magenta lightsaber in her hands. Was she even still worthy of it, if she'd slipped up this badly?

Over and over, she kept trying to justify it in her mind— but she always kept coming back to what she had done, what side of the Force she had tapped into, and how it felt. Thinking of how her scream made those troopers crumple, how it made them shatter, made her shiver. All that power. . . And she let it happen.

She let it all happen.

That was it, that was the thought that every single train led back to.

She heard footsteps and sensed a little fall of rain. Not the angry version, about to turn night into day with forked lightning, but the gentle kind, the kind that brought new life to Aquilae with the spring.

She looked up to see Tallis as he sat down beside her.

"Are you okay?" she asked him. "I'm sorry I let Aunt Jaina stuff you in a storage closet."

"I'm fine," Tallis said. "And we've got bigger problems to worry about."

"Andromeda, Snoke, and Abeloth are all one," Nellith said. "The leader of the Second Order is host to one of the most powerful Force entities to ever exist."

"Yeah," Tallis said. "And there's more coming."

Nellith regarded Tallis with reluctant suspicion. "You know a lot about this. And about my dreams. And the past."

"I do," he finally admitted. "I'm not ready to tell all of it, not yet."

"Why?" Nellith asked.

"It all runs together and I wonder sometimes if what I know is just something I dreamed up," Tallis said. "I need a little more time to figure it all out."

"When that happens, you'll tell me?" Nellith's voice was gentle, but there was vulnerability beneath the surface.

"I promise," Tallis said. He reached out to touch her hand, and she didn't pull away. In fact, she embraced him.

"Oh," was all he said. Nellith could feel that he hadn't been hugged in a very long time, in fact, not since his mother died on Corellia all those years ago.

"I'm sorry I pulled away," he said. "I'm used to being on my own, and I guess. . . "

He trailed off, beginning to cry. Nellith simply held him, knowing the power of an embrace all too well. Her parents had taught her that. She also knew the power of tears, and how they could change a life, how they could save a life.

She began to cry herself, although she didn't know entirely why. But the two sat in the escape pod, hugging each other and crying for all the reasons they could. This went on until Jaina entered the room, tear streaks down her face as well.

"I guess we're all unhappy, aren't we?" Jaina said, folding her arms over her chest.

Nellith and Tallis hastily broke apart, as Jaina sat next to them.

"I should never have taken you on such a critical mission," Jaina said. "We almost all died and we nearly lost two of our most critical Jedi in this war."

"What?" Nellith asked, as she swiped her tears away.

"Tallis is their Emperor, or they want him to be," Jaina said. "That makes him a necessary player in what's to come. As for you, Nellith. . . I think Rey should talk to you more about this, but as a Skywalker, you definitely have a significant role to play."

"But what about you?" Nellith asked. "You're Jaina Solo, Sword of the Jedi and all that. Doesn't that count for something?"

Jaina shook her head. "My generation's story is ending, yours is just beginning."

"But it isn't over yet."

Jaina looked to Tallis, surprised.

"The past keeps coming back," Tallis continued. "Even ancient things are coming back. You'll still be important. You're a Skywalker too, Jaina."

The Twin Suns was silent for a moment. Jaina tilted her head as her opinion on Tallis himself shifted.

"Thank you, Tallis," Jaina said. "I needed to hear that."

Tallis nodded, although there was a dark glimmer in his lilac-gray eyes when he looked to Jaina, as if he still hadn't forgiven her for the whole closet incident.

For a brief moment, Nellith wondered about the truth of Tallis's allegiance. Just because he hadn't accepted the offer of being an emperor to the Second Order didn't mean he wasn't Dark. As she watched him, she realized how little she truly knew about him.

Nevertheless, she wanted to believe in him.

Maybe that was why she said nothing at all, and ignored that glimmer.

* * *

When the _Twin Suns_ set down in the hangar of the Imperial Palace, the sun had risen over the frozen planet, streaking the sky beautiful colors. Nellith rushed out, into her mother's arms.

She knew Rey could sense the darkness that had risen, once mostly dormant in her daughter, and now fully awake.

But details would be asked for later. Rey never cared about the darkness, as long as there was still light to meet it. So she and Ben embraced their daughter, accepting both the light and the dark within her that she had inherited from them.

Still, Tallis stood alone.

* * *

 **AN: Book 2 of the Jedi Queen series, _Jedi Queen: Mysteries of the Force_ is complete. The next book is _Crown of Stars_.**


End file.
